Not always on the wrong side
by Lordban
Summary: A wizard's perspective on WWII. A young Slytherin Harry wonders what it means to be a Dark Lord, and Daphne Greengrass illustrates her answer by a retelling of the war with Grindelwald, a war in which lines were frighteningly more blurred than was the case with Voldemort. No pairings, just a "history lesson". Dumbledore and Grindelwald are told of, they don't appear.


**A/N :**

First things first: I don't own any of this.

A bit of background: this one-shot is actually an extract from an old pet-project of mine on which I've been working on and off for a few years, a story in which young Harry Potter is sorted in Slytherin. He walks a thin edge there. He's still protecting Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom, whom he met on the train - he doesn't like bullies. He isn't hated by Draco Malfoy - the young boy, like the rest of his house, wonders if Harry is going to be the next Dark Lord. That particular idea chills Harry, who certainly doesn't fancy himself like the next Voldemort - we're talking about the wizard who murdered his parents.

Harry has become friends with Daphne Greengrass, who is dealing with her own issues. Along with Malfoy, Daphne has taken it upon herself to instruct Harry on how the wizarding world works. Daphne has accompanied Harry when he's gone to "warn" Hermione about the troll on Halloween (along with a shameful Ron). Ron has held his ground, but not Daphne.

The morning after Halloween, Harry has gone down to the lake to muse on the events of the night before. His pondering led him in a direction that shook him very badly: he's just found out he craves power (and has missed out on the very noble reason why he craves it: to protect those around him; silly boy). Malfoy has had to drag a distraught Harry to the morning's lesson - Double Potions with Snape. Snape, of course, has noticed what was going on and grilled Harry as soon as the lesson was over. Daphne hasn't missed Harry's "distraction" either, and asked him to find her for a quiet lunch away from prying ears as soon as Harry managed to escape Snape. Only the interview with Snape was actually helpful (and puzzling...)

The meat of this one-shot (and the part I've discarded in the actual story) is Daphne retelling the history of the war with Grindelwald from her ancestors' point-of-view. I've made it a story rather involved with the actual World War II, only not in the usual perspective. Daphne's point is to demonstrate a Dark Lord isn't always wrong, and here the wizarding world has screwed up _really_ badly dealing with the Muggles before and during World War II - they were fooled just like our world was.

This story is rated "M" for a direct evocation of the atrocities of Hitlerism, and the disturbing nature of a world ignoring them at first (which is, alas, what happened in the real world...) This story hasn't been particularly polished, so I'll beg your forgiveness for a few instances of awkward English - it isn't my native language. Sorry for the rather abrupt ending - I did discard this.

'v'

* * *

'v'

Hogwarts, as Harry had come to realize, was a huge place. It was in fact quite fit to accommodate at least three times as many students as it did, judging by how the large majority of the classrooms had not been used for quite some time, leaving entire aisles of the castle devoid of students. They were sparkling clean, though, making Harry wonder why anybody bothered.

The relatively low student population didn't seem to be the only explanation for the empty state of the aisle Harry was headed to, as the boy realized when he saw Daphne leaning flat against the wall below Gretchen the Grumpy, her face white with fear. A wicker basket covered by a chequered napkin lay near the girl's feet, quite forgotten. Harry drew his wand automatically as he heard exactly what had frightened his friend: three low, rumbling growls coming from the shaking door at the far end.

'What now?' he mumbled.

Then it hit him, and he couldn't help a dry chuckle.

'Not funny' came Daphne's trembling voice. 'Let's go warn a teacher before whatever's behind that door goes on a rampage.'

Harry pocketed his wand and walked to Daphne. Smells of food wafted from the wicker basket; Harry collected it. 'I doubt a teacher would be surprised by the news' he said with a small smile. 'That's the forbidden corridor, remember?'

'Wonder why' Daphne replied weakly, looking with apprehension at the door as she stepped away from the wall. 'Harry, please, let's go elsewhere. I don't fancy another adventure like last night's.'

'Me neither' Harry assured his friend, leading her away.

They put two floors between them and the growling beasts of the forbidden corridor, and a tricky little charm by Daphne ('_Alohomora_') opened the door of a disused classroom near the library.

'How did it go?' Daphne asked as soon as Harry closed the door. 'Did Professor Snape punish you?'

Harry shook his head. 'Not for this morning. He took seventy points for yesterday, though.'

Daphne's face lost what little colour it had regained. 'Seventy points?' she said, outraged. 'He took seventy points for saving Granger's life?'

'For endangering ours' said Harry, laying down the wicker basket on a weathered desk.

'Now everybody's going to hate us' Daphne said dejectedly.

'They're not' Harry replied.

Daphne choked. 'Of course they are. We've lost half of our house's points in one go… Oh, Parkinson is going to have a field day…'

'If she has one, she's going to be after me' Harry replied calmly.

'What do you mean, Harry?'

'You weren't punished, Daphne, I'm the one who lost the points' Harry explained. 'And I don't think Parkinson is going to have much of a say about it, because Dumbledore awarded a hundred points for saving Granger. If anybody's going to be in trouble it's our Prefects. Snape wasn't happy…'

'No surprises there' Daphne mumbled. 'Bumbling idiots. They're lucky the troll didn't catch one of them.'

'They know quite a bit of magic' Harry remarked. 'They could have done something like Professor Snape.'

'Not if they didn't want to get expelled' Daphne said darkly. 'You have no idea of what the curse Professor Snape used is, do you, Harry?'

Harry blinked. 'Er… It was something like _Avadacadabra_?'

'_Avada Kedavra_' Daphne corrected. 'That's the worst kind of dark curse there is' she muttered. 'Can't be countered, kills anybody it hits instantly. Doesn't matter where it hits. Works on trolls too, from the looks of it.'

'Dangerous curse' Harry mumbled.

'It's one of the three Unforgivable Curses' said Daphne. 'Use of any of them on another human's worth a life sentence in Azkaban. A student who'd have used _Avada Kedavra_ on the troll would have had to come up with a _very_ good explanation; only the worst of dark wizards learn that curse.'

Harry looked gobsmacked. 'Snape?'

'He was a Death Eater – a member of the Dark Lord's inner circle' Daphne elaborated.

A chill ran down Harry's spine. 'A known Dark Wizard's our Head of House?' he said, shocked.

Daphne snorted. 'Dumbledore testified our charming Head of House was his spy amongst the Death Eaters after the Dark Lord died. Nobody really knows if it's true or if he was a double agent. Father says nobody's going to bother him either way. Either Severus Snape fooled the Dark Lord or he fooled Dumbledore, and they're the two most powerful wizards since the Founders.'

'So he's one of the few wizards who can get away with using Dark Magic in public' Harry mused.

'He used it on a troll, mind you.'

'Are there often trolls in the castle?' Harry asked.

'No idea' Daphne admitted. 'We could look it up in the library. Might as well ask Granger to help – it was her troll too. And before you mention him, no asking Weasley.'

'He was sitting with Granger in Potions' remarked Harry. 'Troll didn't knock him out, but it seems it knocked some sense into him.'

Daphne snorted. 'Praise Merlin for small miracles. "Sense" and "Weasley" usually don't go in the same sentence.'

'I like the twins' Harry said glibly. 'At least when they're not trying to pass us off as the hottest couple in Hogwarts.'

Daphne blushed violently. 'I hate it when they do that' she said.

'Aw, does it mean you no longer like me, Greengrass?' Harry teased.

'Oh, shut up, Potter' Daphne mumbled, looking away.

Harry laughed.

'I'm no longer sure it's good news, but at least you seem better than you were this morning' mumbled Daphne.

'Yeah, about that' Harry said. 'Thanks for looking out for me.'

'Well, you can thank Malfoy' Daphne said, still not looking at Harry. 'I felt incapable of looking you in the face this morning – don't deny, I know you've run off because of what I blabbed yesterday evening. I really thought you hated me.'

'I told you I was mad at me' Harry said quietly.

'You didn't tell me over breakfast' Daphne mumbled. 'Oh, and tuck in; I know you haven't eaten this morning.'

Harry removed the napkin from the wicker basket to discover what qualified as an "edible peace offering" but certainly not as a healthy meal. His friend had brought a collection of haphazardly made sandwiches filled with an assortment of foods Harry liked. They made an odd collection; one doesn't see chicken legs or boiled potatoes in sandwiches every day, and the gravy between two of the irregular triangles of bread had spilled on several others.

Harry grinned; it was so typical of his friend. Daphne was a delicate and highly refined girl, but whenever she attempted something commonplace like making a sandwich she was completely clueless.

Daphne seemed to pick up on the meaning of Harry's grin. 'Go ahead and laugh.'

'Nah, I won't' Harry replied. 'I guess others at the table already did that.'

'You don't say' Daphne mumbled. 'I'm never doing this again, I'm warning you.'

'Well, it was a nice thing to do' Harry said. 'Thanks, Daphne.'

Daphne blushed again, eyes trained firmly on the floor. 'You're welcome.'

Harry picked up one of the less unsteady sandwiches. 'Want some? You made them, it's only normal.'

'I'll wait until dinner. I don't want to look those in the face. And yes, I know it's silly to feel ashamed because of a few sandwiches, but here I am. At least I'm not going to hate myself because of them.'

Harry hiccoughed, which was a messy idea with half a sandwich jutting from his mouth.

Daphne smirked. 'Very dignified.'

'I guess this'll do for payback' Harry grumbled, cleaning himself up.

'So, what did you tell Snape?' Daphne asked.

Harry scowled. 'Malfoy's going to ask too; it's not such a great story that I want to tell it twice.'

'No, but I don't think you'll tell him the _real_ reason you were so upset this morning, which I think I'm entitled to' said Daphne. 'You owe me for making through double Potions alive. And for lunch' the girl added dubiously.

Harry snorted. 'I definitely owe you for lunch.'

'Oh, shut it.' Daphne blinked. 'Wait, forget I said anything.' She blinked again. 'I mean, forget what I just said.'

Harry smirked. 'That's three favours, I only owed you two.'

Daphne groaned. 'You, Sir, are impossible' she said, jabbing her finger at him.

'It's rude to point' Harry said blithely.

Now the girl growled. 'Harry Potter…'

'Over there!' Harry mimicked the looks he'd received during the first weeks of the year. 'It's him, wearing the glasses. Did you see his face? Did you see his scar?'

'Oooo, do you think he'll go out with me?' Daphne added with a mock-swoon.

Both looked oddly at each other. Then they burst into laughter.

'Nice one' Harry managed once he'd recovered.

Daphne sniffed. 'I've learnt from the best.'

Harry sniggered. 'Best not let Professor Snape hear you saying that. He hates arrogant toerags.'

'Be nice' Daphne chided.

'He called my father an arrogant toerag' Harry remarked. 'You'd be in good company.'

Daphne snorted. 'Did he say the same about your mother?'

'Er… Not really.' Harry scratched his head. 'I think he might have liked her, actually.'

'Weird' Daphne said. 'What did he say about her?'

'Not much' Harry replied. 'He went haywire when I told him about Zabini saying he doesn't like me because my mother is a Mudblood, though.'

'Haywire?' said a confused Daphne.

'Er… Muggle word' Harry offered. 'It means he was completely furious. Scary, even.'

'Good thing he rejected Father's offer, then' Daphne muttered, earning a curious stare from Harry. 'I have two sisters, Thalia and Astoria' the girl elaborated. 'Astoria is two years younger than me, and Thalia is twelve years older. After the war Father tried to marry off Thalia to Professor Snape – powerful dark wizard with ties to Albus Dumbledore, youngest Potions Master ever, and also record-holder as youngest Head of House.'

Harry looked at his friend uncomfortably. 'Why'd he reject your sister, if you don't mind me asking?'

'I don't' Daphne reassured him. 'Severus Snape simply refuses to marry. Shame too. There are only two Half-bloods who are considered as proper marriage prospects for Pureblood families – him and you.'

'Me?' Harry said, surprised.

'Well, you've made quite a reputation for yourself already, Harry' said Daphne. 'You were of course famous for defeating the Dark Lord, and now you're turning out as a clever boy who's earned the respect of most of the seventy-three students in Slytherin in less than two months, not to mention the rest of the school, and you're clearly the best student in the year – Granger doesn't count in their views, she's Muggleborn, remember?'

'You show me up in half of our classes, Daphne' Harry pointed out.

'Yep, but I'm not slowing myself down helping dunderheads like Crabbe and Goyle. You are, and I still can't manage to get ahead of you. And, last but not least, you're a Half-blood who's actually managed to get above a Malfoy, and now the Blacks are officially extinct in the male-line the Malfoys are the Most Ancient and Noble House. Everybody in Slytherin knows their standing is below Malfoy's, and he's been bowing down to your will in public.'

'That's because he's trying to cosy up to the next Dark Lord' Harry said sombrely. 'He's hinted as much.'

'Well, I think it's the most brilliant idea he's had since he was born' Daphne said, catching her friend by surprise.

'Tell me you aren't serious' he said, shaking his head.

'Do you know exactly what it means to be the Dark Lord, Harry?' Daphne asked.

Harry frowned. 'No, and I'm not sure I want to.'

'You'll be surprised' said Daphne. 'A wizard calls himself a Dark Lord to affirm his supremacy over the wizarding population of one or more countries, but he doesn't challenge the actual governments. He doesn't follow the law; he makes his own law. The Dark Lord rules from the shadows, around or through existing governments, sometimes even with them; never under them. That's what the title means.'

'There's nothing in that description about murder and torture and dark magic' Harry remarked grimly.

Daphne nodded. 'No, there isn't. There just haven't been any successful Dark Lords without those.'

'I don't think I'd be an exception' Harry muttered. He looked again at the basket of haphazardly made sandwiches, but he was hungry no longer. There was a sourness in his stomach that he knew didn't have anything to do with his friend's attempt at bringing lunch.

Daphne was studying Harry pensively. 'If I tell you a story about Grindelwald's war, will you promise not to be angry with me?'

Harry smiled sadly. 'I'm not going to like that story, am I?'

'No, I don't think you will' Daphne said grimly. 'Do you want to hear it anyway?'

Harry took a deep breath. 'Yes' he said. 'I promise I won't tell anybody else.'

'Thank you, Harry.'

Daphne pulled a chair and sat down; Harry imitated her, the basket of sandwiches all but forgotten. The dark-haired girl looked down pensively, and started on her story.

'First thing I must tell you is my great-grandfather was the Minister for Magic from 1916 until 1943 – longest term in office ever. Apparently there was a big Muggle war in 1914 with Germany on one side, and Britain and France on the other, with minor allies on both sides. That war spilled over in the magical world.'

'I know of that war' Harry commented. 'The Muggles call it the First World War; it was between 1914 and 1918 actually.'

Daphne's eyebrows rose. 'Really? Well, the wizarding war lasted from 1914 until 1917, and at first Britain didn't get involved, so it was basically a war between the French wizards on one side and Germany and all of Central Europe on the other. France on its own had the biggest magical population in Europe – they had many, many more houses than any other country – but they were badly outnumbered anyway, and they started to lose. They only held on because a Dark Lady, of all weird things, rose in France and took advantage of the Muggle war to hit the wizards on the other side.'

Harry's eyes narrowed. 'What's weird, the Dark Lord being a Dark Lady or her actually doing something useful for her country?'

'Both, really' Daphne replied. 'You know enough of wizarding society to understand a woman would never stand a chance of becoming Minister of Magic – or Magical Regent, in France's case. And yes, it's the only known instance of a Dark Lord actually aiding his own country's magical government.'

'Every rule has its exception, I suppose' Harry grumbled.

'It does' Daphne agreed. 'I'm not going to hide things, so I'll tell you this Dark Lady, Claire de Montmoirac, was the grandmother of Halcyon Greengrass, my great-grandfather. She helped him take over the Ministry of Magic here, and they won the war against Germany and its allies together. Then Montmoirac stepped down – again, one of a few Dark Lords who ever relinquished their title willingly – and my father used the prestige from the victory to cement his hold over wizarding Britain.'

'What does this have to do with Grindelwald?' Harry asked.

'Well, the war on the Muggle side was a slaughter, killing thirty times as many Muggles as there were wizards in the whole world' Daphne answered. 'Wizards don't fight massive battles, and we don't use a whole assortment of barbaric weapons against our enemies. A wand is the only weapon a wizard should wield. Montmoirac used Muggles and Muggle weaponry, and it scared the German and Central European wizards out of their wits, especially the Muggleborns who'd known the horrors of Muggle warfare, thought they'd escaped them – and were caught up by them. The only reason the International Confederacy of Wizards didn't make real efforts to catch my ancestor was because everybody knew the wizarding war she interfered with was a shameful power grab by the German wizards. They wanted to rule all of Europe, and everybody else felt they'd deserved what they'd got.'

'So the war ends, your great-grandfather becomes Minister of Magic, the French Dark Lady disappears, and wizards from Germany and a bunch of other countries end up scared of Muggles' Harry summed up.

Daphne replied with a tight smile. 'Exactly. That's where Grindelwald comes in. He visits all those terrified wizards and tells them they know Muggles are evil and dangerous creatures and something must be done to put them back in their places before it's too late. Nearly half of magical Europe willingly threw themselves in his arms when he declared himself Dark Lord in 1921.'

'Nobody said a thing against him?' a surprised Harry said.

'Nobody' said Daphne. 'He was clever. He rode on Montmoirac's coat-tails, except he claimed to be on every wizarding government's side. Said he was only interested in the Greater Good. He didn't matter much in spite of having so many followers anyway, because he didn't act – made himself some sort of unofficial leader with little real power. He made himself look harmless, even if he had a reputation as an extremely powerful wizard, and of course you can't try a wizard when he committed no crimes. And his followers were mostly frightened Muggleborns and Central European wizards who'd just been badly defeated. Neither category wanted another war so soon after the last one.'

'They overcame their fears, didn't they?' Harry prompted.

'They did, but it took many years and another huge Muggle war' Daphne replied.

'The Second World War?'

Daphne nodded. 'You know who Hitler was?'

'Er… He was the leader of the Germans in that war, wasn't he?' Harry offered, trying hard to remember what he'd learnt at elementary.

'That's him' Daphne confirmed. 'This Hitler, he set up a huge cult in Muggle Germany and called them Nazis. Their creed sounded familiar for all of wizarding Europe; it was blood purity, only it had nothing to do with magic, of course. As you probably know, after a few years, this Hitler started rattling sabres and he began annexing smaller countries left and right, until it was too much and a war started again – and Germany began by winning against everybody but Britain.'

'But the wizards didn't get involved in the Muggle war this time, did they?' said Harry.

'They didn't. Most everybody thought it too dangerous to get involved and nobody but the Polish wizards really bothered with the war at first, really, and those were already on Grindelwald's side. The only thing the International Confederacy of Wizards did was ban all interactions with Muggles involved on either side of the war. Trouble is, the Muggles started throwing explosives left and right and centre and those explosives didn't care about the ban when they started interacting with wizards. That was something new: wizards getting killed by Muggles without even being involved.'

'I bet it helped Grindelwald a lot' Harry observed.

Daphne nodded. 'It raised a big stink, and it made everyone even _more_ afraid of attracting the Muggles' attention. Even _more_ wizards joined Grindelwald's side, and they became more vocal against the Muggles. Then late in 1942 Grindelwald scored a huge point. He brought information before the ICW showing how the Nazis were going about enforcing their version of blood purity, and it wasn't just on the battlefield.'

Daphne shivered. Her voice nearly faltered. 'It was appalling. They'd left ten million to die from hunger and shot several more millions. They'd built huge prisons all over Europe for those who disagreed with Hitler and used them to make millions more work themselves to death. They'd even built what Muggles call factories for the sole purpose of killing their equivalents to our Mudbloods; one of those factories was big enough to kill the whole wizarding population of Britain in one single day. It killed thousands every day.'

A white-faced Harry stared at Daphne. 'That's- that's horrible' he said hoarsely.

Daphne was trembling. Her hands clutched at her chair. 'They can do horrible things, Muggles' she said.

'They didn't teach us that at my Muggle school' Harry nearly whispered.

'Probably because you were too young' Daphne said weakly. 'I- I read about it when I was eight – it was all in my great-grandfather's journals, you know. I'm glad I didn't know what it all looked like, because I had nightmares about it for months anyway. Muggles could be such beasts – and we wizards had had no idea.'

'Most wizards still don't, I think' said Harry.

Daphne swallowed nervously. 'Well… when it was found out what the German Muggles were doing, it caused the biggest scandal ever. Nearly all the wizarding governments fell over the next few months – my great-grandfather was no exception. Those who fell were replaced by a mix of the ambitious, the inexperienced, Muggleborns, and an assortment of Grindelwald supporters. The Muggleborns had flown to Grindelwald's banner _en masse_ because it was a huge occasion to throw down entire societies based on blood purity. And Grindelwald convinced the ICW we had to do something to get rid of Hitler and his Nazis before the Muggles realized we still existed, because we really wouldn't have stood a chance. He said we had to fight for the Greater Good of the world.'

'It was the right thing to do' Harry breathed.

Daphne smiled wanly. 'It was.'

'Then why did Dumbledore attack Grindelwald?' Harry asked.

'Well…' Daphne hesitated. 'Dumbledore… He… didn't support Grindelwald in front of the ICW. Not that anybody stood against him, of course. But Dumbledore… Well, he stood by the side.'

_Another reason not to trust him_ Harry thought. 'But he didn't stand by the side in the end' the boy pointed out.

'Not in the end, no' Daphne said distractedly. 'The only thing Dumbledore could do was being the only Mugwump who abstained from voting in favour of Grindelwald's motion to aid the Muggles in the war against Hitler. Everybody thought he didn't vote for it because he was jealous of Grindelwald. Dumbledore was very famous, you know – international researcher, Master in no less than five separate domains of magic, something which had never been seen before, and Grindelwald's only real challenger for the title of most powerful wizard in the world. And people didn't like it when Dumbledore said fighting for the Greater Good could serve the worst of ambitions.'

'Was Dumbledore really jealous?' said Harry.

'How would I know?' remarked Daphne. 'And whether he was or not doesn't really matter. What matters is Dumbledore was the only one who was ready when Grindelwald made his move early in 1945 – turned out Dumbledore had even put together a small network of his own, but he didn't have much to go on, of course, what with nobody seeing Grindelwald for who he was..

'And Grindelwald… He'd used the war with the Muggles to get rid of a number of powerful wizards and insert more of his men in the various magical governments, mostly Central European wizards loyal to him and placed there because he'd taught them how Muggles fought in their wars. In February, after it became obvious that Hitler had lost the war and the wizards no longer needed to be involved, Grindelwald launched coups all over the world and proclaimed himself Lord of the Earth, and he nearly succeeded too. He only missed Britain proper and parts of China; he bagged the two most powerful countries in the Muggle world, and he immediately began preparations for another big war between those two huge Muggle powers. That war was supposed to leave the entire Muggle world exhausted and ripe for the plucking.'

'But it didn't turn out that way' said Harry.

'No, it didn't. Grindelwald's worldwide coup took less than two days, and on the same two days the Muggles of one of the big countries destroyed a whole German city that wasn't even important for their war. Nearly all the wizards in the city were killed, men, women and children. And it was obvious the Muggles could do it again, and they did several times that year, more and more effectively.

'The Muggles from the big country that didn't destroy whole cities weren't any better. They just looted and raped and killed as they invaded Germany, and here again they didn't discriminate when it came to wizarding families. _That's_ what the common wizard saw when Grindelwald talked of a war to end all wars between the big Muggle powers, and nobody fancied seeing their family killed as a result, even for the Greater Good. Grindelwald had nearly lost all his support less than a month after his coup.'

'That's when Dumbledore fought Grindelwald, wasn't it?' Harry guessed.

Daphne laughed bitterly. 'Oh no, he didn't seek him out just then. Grindelwald held the world in the palm of his hand for ten terrible months. Sure, he'd lost all popular support… and he turned ugly. He was still insanely powerful, and he'd assembled an army of heartless wizards. You didn't agree with Grindelwald, you rebelled against him, or simply tried to be in touch with Muggles, it was all the same. Same result.

Harry swallowed. 'He killed them.'

'He did worse' Daphne answered glumly

'What do you mean by "worse"?' said Harry. 'What's worse than death?'

Daphne shivered. 'Grindelwald took a leaf out of Hitler's book.'

'Oh God…' Harry let out. 'What did he do?'

'Well… built a huge prison tower named Nurmengard, and he began imprisoning anybody who dissented there, just like how Hitler and his Nazis had started in Germany by imprisoning or silencing all the political opposition – and let me tell you those camps or Nurmengard weren't nice places to live. One in three who went in never came out. Those who came out were shadows of themselves, starved and broken. And Grindelwald saw to the biggest dissenters personally, and killed quite a few of them. It was, of course, all for the Greater Good.'

Harry looked sickened. 'Not three minutes ago I was convinced Grindelwald was a great man.'

'Don't blame yourself' Daphne said gently. 'Everybody thought like you did. After all, all they were seeing was a wizard leading them against the most monstrous of Muggles. They didn't know he didn't really care until it was too late.'

'Dumbledore knew' Harry said bitterly. 'And he was right to end it.'

'Yes' Daphne said quietly. 'He was. It took him some time to get there – until Christmas, actually – but in the end he managed it with his handful of supporters. Grindelwald didn't have too many loyal followers left; it was really his status of most powerful wizard in the world that allowed him to keep his hold on wizarding society, and there really was only one wizard alive who was capable of defeating him. When Dumbledore finally beat Grindelwald, his regime fell like a deck of Exploding Snap.'

'It would have…'

Harry looked down, mulling on Grindelwald's story for a few moments; then he looked back up at his friend. 'Why did you tell me all this?'

The black-haired girl studied him. 'Because it's not always a bad thing to have a Dark Lord around. 'Suppose Grindelwald had only wanted to do the right thing and he never tried to start another Muggle war or to take over the world.'

Harry shook his head. 'Look, Daphne, it makes a nice story, and I guess that was your point, but it isn't what happened.'

Daphne nodded. 'Grindelwald wasn't a good person.'

'Then what was your point?'

The girl looked at Harry and took a deep breath. 'My point is the Dark Lord isn't always on the wrong side.'

Harry fixed his eyes on his friend. The sound of soft, bitter laughter escaped his lips, making her shiver. 'You've missed the most important point, Daphne.'

'v'

* * *

'v'

Reviews are most welcome :) And if anybody wants to tackle this strange "Grindelwald War" plot bunny, feel free to do so.


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